The resolution, says Hilary Shelton, NAACP Washington, D.C., bureau director,Â “calls on the tea party and all people of good will to repudiate the racist element and activities within the tea party.”Â

“I hope it will empower the tea party to actually look at itself and see that there are those who are noticing things that I think most tea partiers don’t want,” he told the AP.

Tea Party supporter Sarah Palin responded with a statement that said she wasÂ “saddened by the NAACP’s claim that patriotic Americanss… are somehow ‘racists.'”Â

Never thought I would agree with Sarah Palin on anything, but there’s a first time for everything. She’s right. Because some folks don’t support the president, who appears to be doing a marginal job at best, they’re suddenly labeled asÂ racists. Yes, Obama is half black (and half white) and the first president of color elected. It’s a shame things aren’t going well for him or the country right now, but it’s time toÂ stop thinking about the history that was made after hisÂ succcessful campaign and instead concentrate onÂ the immediate problems at hand.

The Tea Party gathering I saw footage of here in Central New York featured a crowd of people of many races, andÂ African-Americans spoke as loud as anyone else. The complaints are about taxes, lack of jobs,Â lack of economic progress, opposition to Obama’s health care measures. What’s race got to do with it?

Â The NAACPÂ is wasting its time with this one. If they’re going to cry racist, they need to provide examples of specific incidents. Not agreeing with the president doesn’t qualify.

They could find real problems of racial disparity across the countryÂ if they look hard enough, but they need to get over the fact that our president is human and inherited a mess from his predecessor. Some people don’t like the job he’s doing, and they’re entitled to their opinion. Deal with it.